| This Isn't Barbie's Dream House |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Chapter 1
Sawyer Longley, soon-to-be Sawyer Spector, looked up at
her older sister Campbell. “I can’t believe that Walt and I are
finally getting married,” she said softly.
“Yep, and I can’t wait until it’s all over with, you’re driving me
crazy,” Campbell lovingly scolded, while she inspected her
sister. With her hair pulled back into a sleek chignon, her
makeup impeccably applied, and her ivory, curve hugging,
wedding dress, she was beautiful. She reminded Campbell
of the exquisite Barbie dolls that her sister enjoyed playing
with when they were little. Sawyer loved Barbie so much that
she had started a collection, so far over two hundred dolls
filled her house. “You weren’t quite a Bridezilla, but you did
work my nerves. And lucky you, today is going to be a
perfect day for a wedding. There’s nothing more beautiful
than a May day in Savannah.”
They were in the corner of what Sawyer had nicknamed the
Holding Pen, the room that the church had set aside for
bridal parties to use before they took that long life-altering
walk down the aisle. Sawyer savored this alone time with her
sister, she knew once she got married, their chances of
continuing to spend a lot of time together would become as
rare as a forty-five year-old woman winning American Idol.
Her ten bridesmaids were clustered together on the other
side of the room, chattering and laughing while putting on
their finishing touches. Sawyer chuckled at the image, she
was finally having her fairytale wedding, the one she had
been dreaming about ever since her mother had given her a
wedding Barbie.
Sawyer agreed with her sister. Then, “I can’t wait until
tonight,” she shyly admitted to her sister.
“So you guys are finally going to do the do,” Campbell said.
“I don’t know how you held out so long, I would’ve gone
crazy.”
“Trust me, I almost did, but fortunately I had Steele, if I hadn’t,
I would’ve dumped Walt a long time ago,” she revealed and
Campbell snickered. As soon as she and Walt decided that
they wanted to abstain from sex until they were married,
Sawyer had immediately gone out and bought a ten-inch
dildo that she had named Steele and had used on a frequent
basis.
While neither one was a virgin, Walt had a five-year-old
daughter, Shelby. And Sawyer had slept with more men than
she could count, with most of those short-term relationships
ending horribly. She had found that as soon as they hit the
sheets they either decided that things were moving too fast
and they needed to slow things down, which really meant
that they got what they wanted and was itching to leave or
they just went MIA. She was tired of both scenarios. So she
was more than willing to comply with his request. Walt wasn’
t like any man she had dated before, he treated her like a lady.
“I spent a ton of money at Victoria’s Secret. I got so much
lingerie that it’ll fill up a suitcase. And I ordered some stuff off
the Internet…some freaky stuff,” she whispered, not that she
needed to since the chattering from the bridesmaids
provided enough noise that hearing anybody that wasn’t
within arm’s length was impossible.
Campbell chuckled. “That’s a good idea, but I don’t think
Walt will need all that. All you have to do is show up and it’ll
be a wrap. Trust me I know. I barely got dressed on my
honeymoon, all I wore was a bathing suit and when it was
time for dinner, I mean when we actually left the room, I threw
on a sarong.” She smiled at the memory.
Just then their cousin Moesha chose to stroll over and
Sawyer tensed, bracing herself for Moesha’s onslaught, she
didn’t know what it would be, but she knew it would be
something, and she was right. “So you’re finally gonna get
fucked tonight, huh girl?”
Sawyer gritted her teeth. She had only asked Moesha to be
in her wedding because their moms were each other’s
favorite sister. And she promised her mother that she’d
include Moesha, no matter how uncouth she was. “Yes, Walt
and I are going to consummate our marriage, if that’s what
you mean,” Sawyer answered. She knew that her friends
and relatives talked about her behind her back and she
regretted the moment she had let them in on such an intimate
matter of her relationship, but at the time it seemed like a
good idea.
“Damn girl. You don’t have to talk like you’re at work
surrounded by a bunch of White people.” She gestured to
the other people in the room. “It’s just family. You can say it,
you’re gonna get fucked tonight, that is if you’re doing it
right,” she said with a snicker.
“Moesha Tamika Barnett watch your mouth!” Priscilla,
Sawyer’s mother demanded and she shot her a grateful
smile. “This is a church and I will not have you disrespecting
it with your potty mouth.”
“Aw Auntie I was just telling it like it is, we all know what she
and Walt are going to be doing.”
Priscilla pressed her lips together and shook her head at her
niece. Moesha was twenty-five-years-old, had a five-year-old
daughter, named Destiny, and still lived with her parents.
Moesha rarely stayed at a job long enough to accumulate
vacation days, so far this year, she had four different jobs.
Sawyer saw Marsha her wedding coordinator jogging
towards her and she braced herself a second time. In the
eight months she had known her, Sawyer had never seen
Marsha stroll or just putter along, she was always sprinting,
and Sawyer never figured out if Marsha was running away or
towards something. None-the-less she had served as an
awesome wedding coordinator. And the feedback from the
wedding party was that she was running the ceremony with
an iron fist.
She came to a stop in front of Sawyer. “You’re the prettiest
bride I’ve ever seen,” she uttered reverently and Sawyer
beamed.
Sawyer was sure that Marsha said the same thing to all her
brides, but seeing the expression on Marsha’s face made her
believe that she really was the prettiest bride in the world and
that the compliment was genuine. “Thank you.”
“Are you ready? I think it’s about time we get started.”
Sawyer nodded and Marsha jetted over to the bridesmaids
and began barking orders.
“Ready girl?” Campbell grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled
her up, the dress clung to her curves so tightly that it felt like
she had been wrapped in it, she was surprised that she was
able to sit down in it.
“Thanks! This dress is so tight and must weigh at least
twenty pounds,” Sawyer nervously fretted.
Campbell nodded towards a garment bag hanging on the
wall across from them. “You don’t have to wear it long. You
got your second dress,” she reminded her.
“Yeah, and I thought you were crazy when you said I should
buy two dresses. But you were right. After sitting in this for
an hour, I know now that I wouldn’t have been able to wear
this all night long. I’d be so aggravated that I’d probably rip it
off halfway through the wedding.”
“That’s one way to get your honeymoon started early,”
Campbell joked.
Sawyer smiled weakly, she suddenly wished that she had
eaten some of the cheese and crackers Marsha had ordered
for her and the wedding party, but she had been too nervous
to eat, now she was feeling lightheaded and all the food had
been eaten. She swayed lightly.
Campbell wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulders
and let her lean on her for support. “Hey you okay?” she
whispered as the wedding party hurried past them.
“I’m fine, just hungry,” she answered and smiled ruefully. “I
should’ve eaten something.”
“Yeah, I told you, you never listen to me,” Campbell scolded
again. She reached into her clutch and pulled out a small
packet of almonds. “Here, munch on these.”
Sawyer was so grateful that she nearly burst into tears, but
she didn’t want to ruin all the work her makeup artist had
done, all she could manage, was, “Oh, Campbell.”
“Not a problem. Eat pretty fast otherwise Marsha’s gonna get
you,” she teased.
Sawyer tore open the package and gobbled down the treat,
she was just finishing when her mother approached her, she
had broken free from the wedding party.
Priscilla hugged her daughter. “Congratulations! You’re
fortunate baby, you found yourself a good man.”
“I know Mom.” Her mother never let a day go by without
telling her how lucky she was to have found Walt. She made
it a point to remind her that good Black men were hard to
find.
“I know you do. Treat him right and take care of him.”
Sawyer resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I will Mom,” she
said obediently.
Campbell squeezed her sister’s hand, she empathized with
her, their mom had given her the same advice ten years ago
when she and her husband, Milt had gotten married. Sawyer
gave her a grateful squeeze back. “Let’s go,” she said softly.